07/02/2017
This morning I am asking myself the same question that the resurrected Jesus asked Peter... Do I love Jesus? And, in so doing, I think about what love truly is. Then I measure the depths of my love and ask yet again, Do I love Jesus? Finally, I explore what Jesus desires of me and ask one more time... Do I love Jesus? Am I worshiping, obeying, and following what Jesus expects of me out of love? How about the love He asked Peter if he had?
“When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.”
John 21:15-17 ESV
Jesus posed the question "do you love me" three times to Peter; the first two times using the word agape as the word for love, and the third time using the word phileo. Twice he asked "do you love me unconditionally, and the third time he asked, do you love me as a friend. Yet all three times, Peter responded using the word Phileo. How will I respond? Will I respond like Peter by saying that I love Him as a friend, or will I be bold and sure enough in my feelings to respond "I love you unconditionally with all my heart?"
Each time Jesus asked the question He gave Peter a directive... "feed my sheep." This morning I am listening intently for what Jesus asks of me today, knowing that when He asks I must answer, and then if I truly love Him unconditionally, I will do what He desires of me. I will tell Jesus how I love him, and then show Him in my doing of His bidding.
In our lives there are those we love so completely that we will do whatever they ask without hesitation, but there are others, who we call friends, whose requests we must weigh out. Which role does Jesus fill in our life? Is our love for Him agape, or is it phileo? Do we respond immediately and without reservation to His call, or do we weigh out His requests to see if they fit neatly into our day?
When Jesus asked Peter "do you love me?" He already knew the answer to that question. What he wanted to convey to Peter was that if he loved Him... he would take care of those who the Lord was entrusting to him, and He was telling him that this would require unconditional love (agape) to achieve. We have the advantage of looking back on Peter's life and knowing that, yes, he was able to love completely, but at the time that Jesus asked these questions Peter wasn't all there yet. After all, he had just denied Jesus three times, and although he was being led forward in faith... he wasn't where God needed him to be. He wasn't quite "the rock" that he would become.
When we ask ourselves if we love Jesus we may not be where He wants us to be in our relationship, but He still desires our commitment and for us to begin doing what He has asked. He wants us to begin feeding the sheep as the Holy Spirit works in us.
When I was eleven years old, I lived in Augsburg Germany, and was the youngest boy in my boy scout troop. That summer my troop hiked fifty miles, under full pack, to Berchtesgaden. It was to be a grueling hike into the Alps, and I was asked if I could make it. I responded "yes" without knowing if I really could... after all, I had never been on a hike with a pack before. I am certain my response wasn't an "Absolutely! There is no doubt!" But, much like Peter, just a simple "yes I can." So, early one morning the hike began and as we walked through the days I gained in strength and confidence. In the end I was able to complete the fifty miles without issue. I grew a lot in those few days, just as a Peter was about to grow as he began feeding Christ's sheep.
As Peter approached the end of his days, I wonder how he would have answered Jesus if asked again. Would he have continued to use the word phileo, or felt comfortable using agape? My heart tells me that his relationship and confidence would have been elevated to the agape love that Jesus knew he had within him all along. Peter had become the "Rock" on which Jesus had built His early church... and continues to build it today. No more doubt, no more denial... just agape love. Are we ready to love completely? Or maybe just begin feeding and hiking despite the doubt we have in ourselves... placing our faith in the Holy Spirit who will lead us to become more than we can imagine.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for loving me completely, and for teaching me to return that love in its entirety to you. I thank you for Jesus who asks me the question "do you love me completely?", and for your will which He conveys thereafter. Holy Father your faith in me often exceeds that which I have in myself, but you know my heart and my ability, even before I take my first step in completing your requests of me. I am so grateful for the power your Holy Spirit imparts to me, and the assurance your hand has as it rests upon my shoulder. I pray that I answer your call to "do", even as I answer your question of my love... "completely."
Rich Forbes